In Spite Of Your Shadow
by BobbertCanuck
Summary: Frisk has been fighting what feels like a hopeless battle with her inner darkness and retreated into herself in an attempt to shield her problems from her loved ones. Asriel is sick of seeing Frisk in such a state and resolves to do whatever it takes to help his beloved friend in these, her darkest hours.
1. Part I: Not Anymore

**Author's Note:** This is my first Undertale fic, so constructive criticism on how to improve is greatly appreciated. As always, I hope you enjoy! The writing of this story began before Deltarune was released and as such was not influenced by it, and will not be influenced by it seeing as I have yet to play it. If events similar to those in Deltarune appear, know that it is a coincidence.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters.

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART I -=-=-=-=-**

 **NOT ANYMORE**

* * *

The final bell of the day had rung. Asriel was at his locker. It was mostly there to store his bike helmet since he'd rather just keep any books or papers he needed in his backpack. He retrieved his helmet and closed the locker door. Through the crowds of the school's main concourse, he spotted his quasi-sister Frisk.

She seemed in a worse funk than usual. Her head was hung slightly, and she walked slowly. Asriel's mouth drew to a firm line as he watched her. She'd been like this for some time. Depressed, aloof, and detached. He hated seeing her like this.

Frisk shambled through the crowd towards the main doors. Asriel usually went to chess club after school on Fridays, but today… something inside told him to finally act on his concerns. He refrained from acting sooner because at the time he thought it was only temporary. Something that would pass in time. Well, a great deal of time had passed and Frisk's malady had only gotten worse.

Asriel quickly moved through the crowd and out the main doors. He caught up to Frisk on the main steps. She was holding her bike helmet beneath her arm. A gust of wind blew through, causing her red scarf to flap about.

"Hey, Frisk!" Asriel called to her as he approached.

"Hi," she replied.

"Got any plans for today?" He asked.

"No."

"Great! Let's go hang out."

"What about chess club?" Frisk asked.

"Chess club can wait till next week." Asriel remarked, "so let's go!"

"Where?" She asked.

"The place." He answered.

"The place?" Frisk repeated.

"The place!" He confirmed.

Asriel unlocked his bike from the rack and put on his helmet. He looked back at Frisk, who just stood at the base of the steps, looking somewhat bemused.

"Come on!" He beckoned.

Frisk sighed, the cold punctuating it by freezing her breath, and headed to the bike rack. She unlocked her bike and put on her helmet. They mounted their bikes and rode off. Asriel led the way. They biked for some ten minutes before the passed through the main entrance to Grenadier Park. From there it was another eight minutes bike past the castle playground, the old war memorial, and Voltigeur Pond Cafe. They then veered off the main path onto a smaller cycling path. Asriel dismounted a ways down the path and walked his bike into the brush. Through it was a small shingle beach on Voltigeur Pond. They propped their bikes and bags against a tree and stepped onto the gravel shore.

"And we are here!" Asriel announced.

Frisk, her face unchanged took notice of the rocky beach before her. She gave a sharp breath out her nose, the resulting fog was carried off. Asriel took no notice of this and proceeded to ramble on about something that Frisk ignored.

She moved over to a nearby tree and sat against it. The ground was pebbley and uncomfortable. She gave out another sharp breath. The fog blown away by a short gust of wind that also nipped at her nose. There was suddenly a loud plop. Frisk looked over to the source, only to see Asriel crouched to the ground perusing the pebbles and stones. After finding one to his liking he picked it up and whipped it, skipping it clear across the pond.

The discomfort, the cold, and the repetitious sounds of stones skipping the water caused a slow, steady rise in Frisk's blood pressure. The wind blew again and tore at her, as well as causing a length of her scarf to fly into her face. This whole affair was agitating.

"Hey, Frisk!" Called Asriel, "come and skip stones with me!"

She simply glared at him as she stood slowly.

"Frisk?" he called again.

She took a deep breath and let it out, the resulting fog carried off by another gust of wind.

"No," Frisk responded.

Asriel turned to her and froze as he met her icy gaze and grim look.

"Asriel. Why are we here?" She asked softly.

Asriel opened his mouth to respond but merely squeaked. Her look and tone of voice petrified him. He remembered the last time saw this combination. They had to drag that bully to the nurse's office.

"Why did you drag me out to this cold ass pond?" She asked as she moved towards him.

Asriel stumbled to the side and began to back away from Frisk. He soon found himself backed against a tree. Frisk still continued towards him and he sunk down and curled up. His head buried in his knees, which were drawn to his chest, and arms covering his head. Frisk loomed over him for a moment. She huffed before turning away from him.

"I'm going home," she stated.

She was more than done with this debacle. Frisk walked over to the tree she leant her bike against and was about to put on her helmet when-

"W-wait!" Asriel shakily called out to her.

Frisk gave an exasperated sigh and turned about to face Asriel, who had stood up.

"Have you… have you really changed so much that you forgot about our special place?" He asked.

Frisk furrowed her brow and raked her memory. She looked over the shingle beach once more.

"We used to come out here. We'd just hang out, skip stones, feed ducks…"

"… and skate, in the winter when the pond froze over…" Frisk continued, a clouded memory resurfacing.

Frisk re-hung her helmet on the handlebars of her bike and stepped onto the beach. She looked into the still, reflective waters of Voltigeur Pond. She wracked her mind for more memories.

"we haven't been here since… since…"

"Two years ago is the last time we were here together," Asriel answered, "I actually came here a couple times since you… uh… y'know."

"Yeah…"

"It wasn't the same without you…"

As Frisk looked over the pond, a small memory resurfaced. It was about the tree she sat against earlier. She moved over to the tree, kneeled, and scanned it. There it was.

 _FRISK_

 _AZZY_

Scratched into the back of the tree trunk were their names. She traced her finger along the letters. She looked at the bottom of the Y, a little splinter of steel was embedded there. It was the tip of her old switchblade. Broken off when she carved their names in years ago. She ran her thumb over it.

"Huh. I forgot this was here." Said Asriel, who was now kneeling down next to her.

"Yeah." Frisk chuckled, "you were begging me not to do it in case we got caught."

"Switchblades are illegal."

"Yeah, whatever." Frisk retorted, smiling.

Asriel chuckled a bit. "God I've missed you."

Frisk's smile flattened out. "You talk like we haven't seen each other in years."

Asriel scratched the back of his neck, "when the uh… thing… happened, you sort of withdrew into yourself. You wouldn't talk much. You never seemed up for doing stuff. You usually were in this dour mood. So I just give you your space."

Frisk hung her head. "I'm sorry-"

"No! Don't apologise." Asriel interjected, "It's not your fault. I should have done something sooner instead of just standing by like an idiot."

"You're not an idiot." Frisk consoled.

Asriel huffed, "I feel like one…"

The two remained silent. Neither really knew how to continue. So they just sat there in each other's company.

"I got you out here because I was sick of seeing you sad all the time." Asriel started.

He turned to Frisk and put his hands on her shoulders, "when you saw our names on this tree, that was the happiest I've seen you in a long time."

He pulled her into a hug, "I wanna see you happy again, so we're going to start hanging out again. We're gonna come out here, we're gonna go to movies, we're gonna watch anime, we're gonna play video games, we're gonna-"

"Azzy."

Asriel stopped. Frisk wrapped her arms around him. "That sounds great."

The two held the embrace for a bit. A strong wind blew through, and the sound of thunder rolled in from the distance.

"Maybe we should go home…" Admitted Asriel.


	2. Part II: Repressed Shadow

**Author's Note:** This is my first Undertale fic, so constructive criticism on how to improve is greatly appreciated. As always, I hope you enjoy! The writing of this story began before Deltarune was released and as such was not influenced by it, and will not be influenced by it seeing as I have yet to play it. If events similar to those in Deltarune appear, know that it is a coincidence.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters.

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART II -=-=-=-=-**

 **REPRESSED SHADOW**

* * *

Frisk awoke to the sound of rain pelting the window. It had begun the evening prior and had not ceased since. She looked across the room to the bed opposite hers. Asriel lay sleeping still. Frisk sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She left her bed and headed for the bathroom.

As she entered the hall, she closed her eyes and navigated the rout by memory. Trusting her intuition above her senses of touch, smell, and hearing. Her mind was at its weakest in the early morning, the horrors of her past actions haunting her. Even though Frisk could not see it, her hands felt cool and ashy, as though they were caked in dust. The floor was sticky with spilt blood and reeked of it too. The distant cries of death and panic filled her ears. She drowned out the screams and moved to the bathroom one step at a time.

As she closed the bathroom door behind her, she took in a deep breath and concentrated. She manifested her determination and opened her eyes. Her hands were not ashy. The floor was free of blood. The house was quiet. She had, for the moment, repressed the phantasms.

She looked in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, she was somewhat pale, and her eyes had bags beneath them. Even though the nightmares stopped with medication, she still didn't sleep well. A looming sense of dread filled her dreamless sleep. Frisk sighed, even though she wondered about the point of it all, she proceeded to brush her teeth and brush her hair.

After that, she closed her eyes, leant over the sink, and splashed cold water in her face. When she looked back into the mirror, the most distressing of her hallucinations made its entrance.

It was a grim reflection of herself, its cheeks were sporting a bright blush, a broad smile on its lips, and piercing red eyes that were wide open. It looked at her from the other side of the mirror. It winked at Frisk. She maintained a stoney attitude and expression, refusing to give in to this demon's tricks.

" _Good Morning."_ It said cheerily. " _Sleep well?"_

Frisk refused to acknowledge the apparition in the mirror.

" _You seem… different. Oh! How could I forget, we had some fun yesterday."_ It remarked, referring to Asriel bringing her to their beach on Voltigeur Pond. " _I thought it was funny when we made him cower like that. He's such a crybaby."_

" _I remember when you first slipped up. Gord didn't know what hit him until we were on top of him. I'm not too proud to admit that you've gotten good at curtailing my influence."_

" _You're starting to slip though. You'd never hurt your dear Azzy… Or… would you?"_

Frisk bawled a fist.

" _Ok… I'll stop talking about him. Seeing you squirm in front of mother about breaking the bathroom mirror is the kind of thing that's only funny the first time."_

The apparition stepped aside, revealing Frisk's reflection. It then put its hand on the reflection's shoulder. Frisk felt the hand on her own shoulder and shivered slightly. In reaction, its smile widened.

" _you really are slipping! You don't usually feel that kind of thing when you do that whole 'mustering up the determination' thing."_ It laughed. " _I might get my end of the deal sooner than I thought."_

There was a knock on the bathroom door. Frisk's attention remained on the apparition.

"Anyone in there?" came Asriel's voice.

" _I guess I'll leave now, but I will be seeing you later."_ It lifted its hand from the reflection, and Frisk's shoulder. It then disappeared.

There was another knock.

"I'll be out in a second," Frisk responded.

She leant back over the sink and splashed water in her face one more time. It was just her reflection in the mirror when she arose. She dried her face and left the bathroom.


	3. Part III: Encroachment

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.

 **Author's Note:** Knowing that someone will read this story and maybe write a comment fills this Author with DETERMINATION!

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART III -=-=-=-=-**

 **ENCROACHMENT**

* * *

Frisk sat half asleep in the back seat of Asgore's pickup. She looked over to Asriel, who was sitting beside her. He held his chin in his hand and looked intently at his phone. He'd been playing a new puzzle game lately, the latest puzzle must have stumped him. She looked to Asgore, or rather, his horns. They'd made a not unnoticeable dent in the ceiling of the car from all the times he got in or out. They were on the way to Asgore's gardening shop. He had convinced she and Asriel to work there over the March break.

Frisk wasn't used to waking up at 6 am. Neither was Asriel, but he tended to wake up faster. The sun wasn't up yet, and it wouldn't be for another forty minutes or so. She looked out the window at the passing cityscape. Out of the corner of her eye, in the rearview mirror, she saw something… red. A luminescent red. She looked at the mirror, and it was gone. She rubbed her eyes. It must have been nothing. After a few more minutes of driving, Asgore pulled the pickup into the lot behind the store.

"Alrighty. We are here."

The three clamber out of the vehicle and into the back of the shop. Frisk and Asriel take both take a seat at the small table in the shop's backroom.

"Tea anyone?" Asgore asked.

"Yeah," Asriel responded, still puzzling over his phone.

"I'll take black tea if you have it," Frisk replied, hoping the caffeine would perk her up.

"Sure thing." He says as he puts the kettle on.

Asgore looks over to Asriel. "Son…" No response.

"Son…" Once again, no response.

"Asriel!"

Asriel nearly dropped his phone and looked at his father, who returned a stern glance. Asriel took a quick look at the puzzle, shrugged, and put the phone in his pocket.

"Ok!" Asgore began as he tossed to them a pair of green aprons, "after out tea is done, I'll show you two where everything is, how to work the till, and by then it should be 7 o'clock, and we'll open up."

He also handed them little pin on name tags with their names already on them. Once the kettle whistled, the tea served and drank, Asgore showed them the layout of the store and where the various overstock for the trowels and flower pots and such were located. Whilst listening to Asgore giving a short lecture on the differences between shovels and spades, Frisk, once again out of the corner of her eye, thought she saw someone outside the shop's front window. When she looked over, she saw no one. This concerned her, to say the least.

Asgore's lesson on how to use the cash register went without incident and the store opened. To no one's surprise, it wasn't terribly busy. Frisk was manning the till, and Asriel went around to the shelves and racks straightening things and trying to look like he was doing something. Frisk, about an hour after the store opened, swore she heard someone whispering behind her and looked behind her to see a shelf full of small potted plants. Frisk passed it off as nothing but was still a bit unnerved by it.

"Hey…" Asriel said as he stepped over to Frisk, having noticed her quick look behind her. "What's wrong?"

"I dunno…" Frisk mumbled, she turned and saw that Asriel was also looking a little unnerved. "What's wrong with you?"

"What do ya' think?" Asriel replied, tilting his head in the direction of a potted golden flower that sat next to the till with a 'not for sale' sign taped to the pot. "I swear the thing is watching me."

Frisk chuckled a little. "Yeah… I heard something like a whisper or whatever. It was probably nothing."

"Maybe it was like, just the ventilation or something," Asriel suggested.

"Maybe…"

Another couple more hours past with not a single customer. Frisk resolved to spend her time spinning a quarter from the till on its side and Asriel decided that his time was best spent trying to figure out that puzzle on his phone. The bell dangling above the door rang as a customer stepped in. Frisk in reaction, straightened her posture and smiled. The customer looked to be a middle-aged woman with brown hair. She looked surprised to see Frisk at the counter.

"Hi… uh…" the woman began awkwardly, "Is your uh… boss in?"

"Yeah. I'll get him for ya." Frisk replied politely.

Frisk moved to the door that led to the back of the shop and opened the door. Asgore looking through an invoice. He looked up at Frisk.

"A customer is asking for you." She says.

Asgore got up and exited the back room.

"Linda! How have you been?" He asked the customer.

"Oh, I just uh…" she had her phone out and showed it to him, "I was wondering if I should start pruning my roses-"

"Not yet, maybe in a week when the weather warms up-"

The conversation continued for a bit longer but Frisk tuned it out due to a lack of interest. The rest of the day was largely the same. The occasional customer would come in and ask for Asgore. At around noon, they put up the 'out to lunch' sign and have tea and sandwiches in the back. The only notable event of the day was near the end of it when Asriel finally solved that puzzle, only to get stumped on the next one. Frisk also kept seeing weird things just within her peripheral vision. The most disturbing of these anomalies was the golden flower that Asriel was paranoid about. She swore it was watching her too, that it would tilt its head in her direction.

Over the next few days, all which followed the same pattern as the first. The disturbances in her peripheral vision became more and more common. Red glows in reflective surfaces, odd sounds and whispers, movement in the corner of her eye, little skin crawls akin to crawling insects. By Friday she was starting to unhinge. Her eyes darting around, trying to catch the little movements in her periphery, the nonexistent bugs on the back of her hand, the whispers behind her, that damn flower looking at her.

Frisk looked at the clock. 3:24 pm. She put her face in her hands. She didn't know if she could hold it together for the rest of the day.

" _Howdy!"_

Frisk froze dead still. That voice. That voice that used to haunt her nightmares. That voice that used to haunt her actual life. She very slowly lifted her face from her hands and looked over to the source of it. The golden flower. It was starting at her. It was smiling. It winked and stuck its tongue out at her.

" _I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!"_

Frisk recoiled away from it and nearly fell backwards. The sudden violent movement caught the attention of Asriel. He went to her when he saw the look of terror on her face.

"Wh-what's wrong?" he asked.

"The flower," Frisk responded, looking at him. "It's staring at-" she cut herself off when she looked back at it. The flower was normal again.

"What?" Asriel pressed.

"Nothing…" Frisk murmured. "I'm just… I'm just tired I think. It's been a long boring week." She awkwardly laughed.

Asriel didn't buy it. But this wasn't the time or place to talk about it.

"I'll take over here, go see if you can help dad in the back."

Frisk looked back over to the flower. It was still normal. Frisk turned and moved towards the back room. On the way there, she thought she heard Flowey's maddening laugh. Asgore heard a knock on the door and turned to Frisk standing in the doorway.

"Frisk?"

"Need any help?" She asked.

"Uh…" Asgore scratched the back of his head. He got a stack of old receipts and a binder clip. "Could you sort these by date?"

"Sure." Frisk grabbed the receipts and clip. "Newest on top?"

"Yes, thank you."

The rest of the day passed without further incident. Frisk kept focus on the task and was able to get through a couple stacks of receipts before the end of the workday. After Asgore locked up and shut the lights the three of them clambered into the pickup.

Frisk, to her relief, didn't see anything out of the corner of her eye, or in the rearview mirror. Asriel didn't pull out his phone on the way back today. He kept a side glance at Frisk. When they got home, Asgore hugged them and paid them for the weeks work in cash. He said goodbye, got back into his pickup and drove off. The two headed in for dinner.

"How was work?" Toriel asked.

Frisk idly poked at her food with her fork.

"Kinda boring," Asriel answered, "like yesterday."

"Oh… well… it is still cold out…" Toriel replied. "Maybe if you go back to work for your father in the summer when it's warmer, it'll be less boring. But until then. It's back to school."

"We sat around most of the time not doing much," muttered Asriel, "It might as well of been school…"

Frisk tried to eat a bit, but she wasn't that hungry. She got up from the table.

"I'm tired. I'm going to bed." She stated.

"Are you sure?" Toriel asked, "I made a butterscotch pie for dessert."

"Yeah… I'm good… I'll have a slice later."


	4. Part IV: Fear Of Sleep

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.

 **Author's Note:** Knowing that someone will read this story and maybe write a comment fills this Author with DETERMINATION!

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART IV -=-=-=-=-**

 **FEAR OF SLEEP**

* * *

Frisk lay awake. She looked up at the ceiling. All the disturbances during the week. The movements, the whispers, Flowey. She didn't want to admit it. She didn't want to acknowledge it but she couldn't ignore it. Somehow, her sheer determination wasn't enough. Her worse half's influences were beginning to encroach. A new thought struck her. If they were slipping through during the day, would they also slip through in her sleep? Could the medication stop it? She didn't know. Waves of dread were washing over her. She rolled over and looked at Asriel. He was in his bed across the room.

"Azzy," she quietly called out to him, "you awake?"

He rolled over. "Yeah…"

"I can't sleep." She stated.

"Me neither."

Frisk moved over and sat on the edge of her bed. "I don't want to sleep."

"Why?" Asriel sat up.

"I'm… scared."

Asriel got out of bed, crossed the room, and sat next to her.

"What's been happening to you?" He asked in a serious tone.

Frisk took in a deep breath. She was somewhat reluctant to tell Asriel.

He put his arm around her. "Remember what I said a week ago? I'm not going to just sit around anymore and watch. I want to be there for you."

She sighed and hung her head. "At dad's shop, I saw Flowey."

She felt Asriel's grip tighten slightly on her shoulder.

"I heard him talk. I heard him laugh. He smiled at me."

Asriel wasn't sure how to respond to this information. She looked at Asriel. He looked like he was in the middle of a traumatic flashback.

"It wasn't just Flowey though. He's just the most extreme example…" she started again, "all week I kept seeing little movements, and red glints. I heard whispers and felt… things… on my arms and hands."

Frisk raised her head, "I'm just… what if I start getting nightmares again."

Asriel remembered the nightmares. They manifested very suddenly around two years ago. Frisk would wake up shrieking and crying nearly every night. The nights she didn't wake up screaming, she'd be shivering and sobbing quietly, refusing to go back to sleep. After exhausting all the non-medical treatments for it, she was prescribed medication. She didn't have a nightmare since then, she also became perpetually tired and depressed. Frisk didn't like to talk about the nightmares or the side effects of the medication.

Asriel pulled Frisk a little closer. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "I think you should talk to a professional about this."

"You mean talk to Alphys?"

"No," Asriel replied, "Alphys is a good medical doctor… I suppose, but she far from a head doctor."

"Head doctor?"

"Yeah, a… uh… a psychologist? Psychiatrist? I dunno. A shrink."

"You want me to see a shrink?" She asked indignantly, removing her head from his shoulder.

"Yes- I mean- ugh… look. I don't know what to say to you. I don't know what to ask you. I don't know how to make you feel better. It would be irresponsible for me to try and help you by myself. I'm always here to support you. I'm with you all the way."

After a moment, she leant her head against his shoulder again. "You're right. Thanks."

"We'll look up a shrink and call them in the morning."

"What about the nightmares?" Frisk asked.

"If you don't want to sleep, then we won't sleep," Asriel replied simply.

"What?"

"We'll get our 3DS's and well play games till morning."

Asriel got up and got their 3DS's from the shelf and a bunch of 3DS and DS game boxes. He laid them on the bed and sat down.

"Ladies choose first." He said as he gestured to the game boxes.

They played games for a few hours. Frisk at some point during Asriel's turn in a strategy game nodded off. He looked over to her. She didn't look to be in distress. He decided not to wake her, it was best she got some sleep. She had taken her medication, so he was reasonably sure that she'd sleep fine. He collected the games, set the 3DS's aside, and pulled the blanket over her. After that, he went to bed himself.


	5. Part V: Living Nightmare

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.

 **Author's Note:** I know I usually release chapters in pairs, but I wrote and rewrote and scrapped this chapter so many times. I don't want to starve you readers out. So here you go.

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART V -=-=-=-=-**

 **LIVING NIGHTMARE**

* * *

Frisk's eyes opened. She shot up when she remembered that she was afraid of going to sleep last night. It was, however, early morning. She found that she had slept near the edge of her bed, an oddity for her. She preferred sleeping on the far side near the wall. Frisk figured that she must have fallen asleep when she and Asriel were staying up last night. Frisk looked across the room to Asriel's bed. The bed was empty, the covers were thrown over.

She got out of bed. The moment she stood a migraine struck her like a sledgehammer. It throbbed violently and she stumbled and steadied herself against the night table. She rubbed her temple with her free hand. She felt… something. She withdrew her hand and saw it was covered with blood. A notion tickled the back of her mind. She turned to see her bed sheets and pillow stained with blood, and a large lump beneath the covers. She tore the covers off the bed. There lay Asriel. His back facing her, he was on his side, crumpled into a fetal position. A knife was sticking out of his back, dust coating the area around the wound. She reached out for the knife with the hand she was using to steady herself. She recoiled it when seeing it caked with dust.

Frisk's head throbbed again. Her knees buckled and she fell to them. She grabbed the sides of her head with her hands. She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes tight. She mustered her determination to rid herself of this hallucination. She opened her eyes. Asriel was still laying there, the knife still prominently protruding from his back. She stood quickly and backed away slowly. Her stomach twisted and churned and knotted. She stumbled backward onto Asriel's bed. She slapped herself. If this wasn't a hallucination it must be a nightmare.

She didn't awaken. She held her face in her hands. She couldn't believe what was happening. After a moment, she raked a hand through her hair and walked over to her bed and Asriel's supposed corpse. She crawled onto the bed and put a hand on his shoulder. He was cold. Clearly dead. He hadn't turned to dust though, which confused her. She bent over him and took a closer look at his hands. The fur was matted and stained with dried blood. There were scars on his arms, it looked like he was trying to block slashes and stabs. She looked up to his face. His eyes were closed and the fur beneath them was tear stained. She turned her attention to the knife. It looked like her pocket knife. She shifted closer to her night table and opened the drawer. Its usual spot there was vacant. The knife in Asriel's back belonged to her.

The migraine struck Frisk again. She doubled over in pain. She began to feel cold. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. She began to breathe erratically, her teeth chattered, her eyes welled up, her head spun. She fell off the bed, smacking her head on the floor. She gripped it in reaction and sucked in air through clenched teeth. She suddenly felt as though she was going to vomit. She tried to stand up but found her knees weak. She turned over and used her bed as an aid. She stood and shakily made her way to the door. It opened to the dimly lit hall, which was illuminated by only the light coming from the window in her room. Her swirling, stirring mind was having trouble distinguishing the walls, doors, and banister for the stairs. The contents of her stomach roiled. She made toward the bathroom as quickly as she could.

Halfway down the hall, something caught Frisk's foot and she tripped, falling flat on her face. She groaned. A knee dug into her lower back. A hand clutched her hair and pulled her head up, bending her back backwards in the process. Frisk looked up at her assailant. The shadowed figure bore cruel similarity in shape to her. The only distinguishable feature on its face was a pair of luminous red eyes. Its gaze pierced straight through to her soul.

It forced Frisk's head back to the floor. Her head now lay to the side. In its right hand, it grasped something that glinted in the dim morning light that shone in from the open door. It was holding the object high. With great force, the shadow jammed the object into the floor right in front of Frisk's face. It was her knife, the blade coated with blood and Asriel's dust. The shadow removed its hand from the handle of the knife. The blade remained, thoroughly wedged between the floorboards.

It laughed a soft, sadistic laugh. It pinned down Frisk's right arm with its own and leant over. Frisk shut her eyes as she felt it's hot breath on her ear.

" _Never in a hundred years could I have guessed that he would be the first victim."_ It started

" _You heartless monster." It chuckled._

"N-no." Frisk murmured, her voice shaking, "I don't believe you."

 _It sighed, "you saw him. Lifeless. Cold. He's dead. We killed him."_

"N-no…" Frisk choked out, beginning to cry.

" _I don't know why you're taking this so poorly. You've killed hundreds of monsters in cold blood."_

"N-no…"

" _It's ok…"_ it cooed, " _you'll get over this. I need that icy resolve you once had if you're going to hold up your end of our bargain."_

"N-no… no… no…" Frisk sobbed.

It got off Frisk. " _I'll leave you to your own devices for now. Don't worry though, I'll be back shortly. We'll have some more fun when I return."_ It walked off.

Frisk curled up and sobbed. Repeating the word no, over and over. After what seemed like hours, she blacked out, exhausted.


	6. Part VI: Partners

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART VI -=-=-=-=-**

 **PARTNERS**

* * *

Frisk groaned. Her eyes cracked open. The room was dark, she lay on a hospital bed. She looked to the left and to the right. Empty beds. She was still in her pyjamas. Frisk. tried to sit up but found that she'd been restrained. She struggled a bit, but couldn't loosen the straps.

' _Your pocket.'_ came a soft voice from the back of her mind.

Frisk slid her hand next to her pant leg and slipped her fingers into the pocket. Her fingertips grazed something cold. She pinched the material of the pocket and slowly pulled the pocket out a bit. She fiddled the object into her hand. It was her pocket knife. She didn't remember it being there though.

' _We must leave.'_

Frisk fumbled with the knife, eventually folding out the blade with the one hand. She flipped the knife around and started slicing strap holding her forearms and lower torso down. After it was cut, she folded her forearm and worked at the strap holding her shoulders to the bed. With her torso no longer being pinned, she sat up and removed the straps binding her legs. She hopped off the bed and headed to the window, seeing as she didn't think she could just waltz out the front door. Wherever she was, she was glad to see that she was on the ground floor. Unfortunately, it was snowing. The ground outside was covered with a thin layer of snow. Frisk looked down at her feet, her socks wouldn't cut it out there. She spun 'round and scanned the room for some kind of footwear. Sitting on a small shelf near the double doors into the room were several pairs of brightly coloured foam slipper things. She groaned, she always hated those things. She stepped over and put on a pair, knowing that the small distance between her feet and the ground they provided would make all the difference. The sound of footsteps came from outside the door.

' _Hurry!'_

Frisk opened the window and hopped out. She now found herself in a parkette that was next to the building she escaped from. She ran, without direction, without sense. She needed to get away from here. A thousand thoughts and fears filled her mind as she darted down the lamplit streets, a knife clutched in her hand. The few who walked the streets at this late hour gave way to Frisk, startled at the sight of a crazed-looking girl brandishing a knife.

Frisk ran for what felt like hours. Her head throbbed and burned, her extremities were cold. She was in a state of delirium, navigating by instinct alone. She was exhausted. Frisk stopped, wheezing and panting, doubled over with her hands on her knees. She looked around. She was in Grenadier Park. She stopped in front of the war memorial. A sort of obelisk-like statue with the names of the regiments that served in the world wars. Frisk coughed and looked around. It was still dark out and the park was empty, or at least it looked empty. She shivered a bit. It wasn't safe here. Despite the pain and exhaustion, with a knife in hand, she ran once more. This time though, she knew where she was going. Fisk knew this park like the back of her hand. She followed the bike trail and pushed through the brush. The gentle ambient sounds of Voltigeur Pond greeted her as she set foot on the shingle beach. She looked up. The dark sky showed signs of brightening. The sun would rise soon. She shuffled over to a tree and plopped down beneath the canopy of the tall pitch pines.

Frisk breathed in deeply. She pulled her knees in and buried her head in them. She stayed like that for a bit. Contemplating everything that has happened up to this point. Asriel is dead. She woke up strapped down as if she were a maniac. Now she's in a park at night.

" _Good morning, Frisk."_ The shadow made itself known.

It walked over and sat next to Frisk. It put a hand on her back and Frisk flinched away. It sighed.

" _You know. We're a lot alike, and I don't mean that we look similar. We've both loved. We've both lost. We've both suffered. You and I, we both climbed mount Ebott for the same reason. In the face of human depravity, you despaired and sought out an end. I did as well. I'll spare you the gritty details, but know that I felt the way you did. No one should feel like they have to take their own life. No one."_ The shadow rubbed Frisk's back.

" _We humans, we cause so much suffering, so much destruction. That war memorial we passed is proof of it. It needs to stop. The monsters aren't much better."_ Frisk sat up and gave the shadow a scornful look.

" _If you had died for good, what would have happened?"_ It asked. Frisk looked away.

" _I'll tell you what would have happened. Asgore would have absorbed seven human souls, shattered the barrier, and waged war against humanity. But now… let's talk about Asriel."_ The shadow's face darkened.

" _He's a coward, a traitor, and a serial murderer."_ It stated.

" _If you two had to fight your way out of a situation, do you think Asriel would help? No. He wouldn't. He'd curl up and cry, or run away."_ Frisk squeezed the handle of her knife.p

" _As the flower, he killed hundreds, over and over again-"_

"He didn't have a soul-" Frisk protested.

" _He didn't have to kill, Frisk. He wanted to. He did it for fun. He did it because he was bored. He did it because he enjoyed watching people suffer."_

The shadow's response was harsh, yet true. Asriel more or less admitted this fact a long time ago. There was a moment of silence before the shadow spoke again.

" _They don't really love you. None of them do. Sure they don't remember you killing them, but you do. You know that in some other place, in some other time, they hate you. They fear you. I don't hate you. I don't fear you. I was rough with you, but it was for your own good. I'm the only one who truly knows you. I'm the only one who truly cares. We are now one. Well… mostly… there is something we're missing. We can get it together. When we get it back, we can do something great together."_ The shadow stood.

" _What do you say, partner?"_ It held out its hand.

Frisk looked up at the shadow. After a moment of contemplation, she took its hand. The shadow disappeared. Frisk's hand shook and she placed it over her heart. She felt… empty. She knew exactly why.

"Frisk!" Came a distant shout.

Frisk recognized the voice. She stood and hid her knife in her sleeve, awaiting the shouter's approach. She would get it back.


	7. Part VII: Soulmates

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.

 **Author's Note:** I know this one is short, but it fits better on its own than as part of another chapter.

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART VII -=-=-=-=-**

 **SOULMATES**

* * *

Frisk… the shadow… they stood there on the shingle beach, the knife hidden in her sleeve.

"Frisk!?" The shout came from the distance.

He had something of theirs', and they needed it back. Half of her heart raced, and half of her heart was calm. Half of her stomach churned, and half of her stomach was still. His footsteps grew closer. She turned away from the approaching footsteps and faced the pond. A slight wind blew, sending a chill through her. She grasped herself and shivered. She was in her pyjamas and it was snowing out.

"Frisk?"

He grew ever closer. Her breathing hastened and tears began to well up.

" _Get a hold of yourself!"_

The brush behind her rustled and a footstep landed on the gravel and small stones that made up the beach. She began to sob quietly.

"Frisk… I… I knew you'd come here."

The footsteps drew nearer. She gasped as he wrapped his arms around her. She looked down at his arms. Beneath the sleeves of his coat, wrapped around his arms were bandages. She spun around in his arms to face him, yet she dared not look him in the eyes. She returned his embrace and buried her head in his shoulder. He pulled her in close. He still seemed cold. Her knees became weak. He noticed this and he dropped down with her.

"It's ok. I'm here." He whispered. "I've been so worried. I'm glad you're ok."

"Azzy…" she choked out through sobs.

They knelt there in each other's arms for a moment.

" _Stop drawing this out! If you won't do it, I will!"_

"I-I… I need something."

"Sure Frisk. Anything. What is it?."

Frisk slipped the knife from her sleeve and took it in hand. She shut her eyes tight.

"I-I'm so sorry, Azzy."

"About wha-" He stopped mid-question as all the air left his lungs.

"I need our soul back." Frisk whispered shakily, her hand wrapped around the handle of the knife that was now plunged into his back.

His breaths became shallow. She took her hand off the knife. His arms went limp and slid off her back. She kept her arms around him and held his weight.

"I'm so sorry." She choked out. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

" _It needed to be done. Now let's-"_

She became dizzy. Her head spun. She grew colder and colder. The air left her lungs.

" _What's going on?"_

She and Asriel slumped over and fell to their sides. Her vision clouded and she blacked out.


	8. Part VIII: Memory Lane

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.

 **Author's Note:** A long chapter to go with a short chapter. Please leave reviews if you enjoy the story or have constructive criticism to offer.

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART VIII -=-=-=-=-**

 **MEMORY LANE**

* * *

Asriel gasped and shot upwards, his heart pounding and in a cold sweat. He looked around him and saw pillars and cavern walls, illuminated from above. He tried to remember how he got here. The memory was fuzzy. He was in Grenadier Park, he saw Frisk on their beach, and that's when it all went dark. He looked above and saw the origin of the light. It was… the hole in Mount Ebott that led to the ruins. He stood and saw that he'd been lying on a bed of golden flowers. He knelt and took a flower in his hand. He used to love them, although, spending time as one made him somewhat apprehensive. He plucked the flower from the ground and smelled it. He took the flower's head in his hands and tore it in half. After his act of floricide, he stood back up and looked around for the exit. It was there, just as it always was, a large doorway into the ruins proper. Deciding that he'd get nowhere idling about here, he headed for the door.

"Howdy!" Came a voice from behind. It was all too familiar. It caused Asriel's skin to crawl and sent a shiver down his spine.

"I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" He turned slowly and saw that from the remains of the torn flower sprung his worst nightmare.

Flowey sized Asriel up and gave him an odd look, as though it was expecting someone else, "you aren't…"

He quickly changed to his friendly facade, "you're new around here, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how-"

Asriel knew these words all too well. His gut churned in Flowey's presence. He condemned many with similar words as Flowey and the irony that they were now being used on him was not lost on him. He knew better than to stay though and ran through the door.

"H-hey! Where ya' going?" Flowey called after him.

Asriel knew the ruins like the back of his hand, or at least, he thought he did. After passing the same toppled pillar for the fourth time he decided to stop and catch his breath. He took a seat on the pillar for a moment.

"Howdy again!" Flowey popped up.

"Gah!" Asriel shrieked as he fell backwards off the pillar.

"Why'd you run? I'm just a flower." He said coyly. "Anyway, someone has to teach you how things work around here. I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!"

Asriel sat up and found that Flowey was blocking his way. "See that… uh…" Flowey seemed perturbed. "Where is it? Where's your…"

Flowey narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Asriel. "You… why do you look so familiar?"

Flowey shut his eyes in thought before growling in frustration. Asriel took this as his cue to leave. Flowey was blocking the way forward so Asriel got up and ran the way he came. Confusingly, the rooms he ran through were completely different. He became lost all over again. He eventually caught his foot on a raised stone in the floor and tripped. Flowey popped up in front of him. He had completely dropped the friendly demeanour.

"I usually terrorize her when she's here, but you're here and not her so you'll have to do."

Flowey laughed maniacally as he summoned a ring of friendliness pellets. Asriel curled up defensively. He then realized what Flowey said.

"T-terrorize who?" He asked, still shielding his face.

"You know. The girl! Blank looking face, had nightmares… I was expecting to see her here."

He was talking about Frisk. Asriel needed to get out of this predicament and go find her. The only way he could fight magic was with his own magic. The Ring of friendliness pellets began closing in. He'd always been circumspect about using his magic, but now was not a time for caution. He channelled his magic and cast it out to counter the friendliness pellets. As it turned out, he conjured up his own friendliness pellets. The two magical attacks collided and dispersed. Flowey stood there, shocked and somewhat disturbed. Asriel, in his newfound confidence, stood up and steeled himself against Flowey. Another ring of pellets was forming around Asriel. He set up his own and sent them out to deflect the attack before it began. Asriel then took the initiative and sent a pellet at Flowey, who popped into the ground to avoid it. Asriel summoned another pellet to have at the ready when Flowey returned.

Flowey, still disturbed and now infuriated, popped up from the ground behind Asriel. "Who are you!?" He demanded.

Asriel turned to face him and said the most badass thing he could think of. "I'm your best nightmare!"

He sent out the pellet and completely missed. The two were still for a moment. Flowey looked at him contemptuously. It was all rather awkward.

Asriel scratched the back of his head. "Why don't I just leave-"

"Yeah, you do that," Flowey grumbled."

Asriel stepped around Flowey and moved on. The ruins were a much more pleasant place now that he wasn't being hunted down by a sociopathic flower. The purple-ish stone, the piles of red leaves, the levers and switches… There was always something about this place that he enjoyed, he could never quite put his finger on it. Comfortable though it may be, this place wasn't right. There were the small matters of the rooms and their incorrect placement, and then the large matters of how he got here and the presence of Flowey. It didn't quite make sense. He mulled over it all as he walked. He was suddenly struck by something. It sent him tumbling. The pain was excruciating.

"Idiot!" Flowey exclaimed as he popped up seemingly out of nowhere. "Did you really think I was going to let you just walk out of here? Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this!?"

A new ring of friendliness pellets formed. "Die!"

Flowey laughed maniacally as the pellets closed in. Asriel tried his damndest to conjure up his own, but that blow took quite a bit from him. An errant fireball collided with Flowey and sent him flying, dispersing his friendliness pellets.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…" Asriel looked up to see his mother's figure. Although he was no longer Flowey, his mother's words still stung. If only she knew…

She looked over to him and smiled that warm motherly smile of hers. "Ah, do not be afraid my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins."

Asriel was confused. How did his mother not recognize him? Also, why was she here too?

Toriel continued, "I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first… uh…" she paused. Her face lingered on Asriel's for a moment. "First person to come down here in a long time."

She extended her hand and helped Asriel to his feet. "Come! I will guide you through the catacombs."

Holding his mother's hand like he once did as a child, he made his way through the ruins. The two eventually came to the door that led to the rest of the underground. Toriel opened the door to a flash of blinding white light. Asriel found himself no longer holding her hand and he cautiously stepped through the doorway. As the light subsided Asriel found that he wasn't in the underground any longer. He was on a hillside that sloped down into a dale. He turned, only to see the crest of the hill. The door was gone. He carefully walked down the hill. As reached the bottom of the hill, he realized where he was. Willowvale Pits. It was a park close to his house. He walked along the path and thought about how he got here. It was starting to make his head hurt. A couple of children nearly ran into him, which broke his train of thought. He turned his head and watched them run to the playground. It was then that someone caught his eye. Frisk. Her back was facing him, but he knew it was her.

"H-hey! Frisk!" He called out to her.

Frisk didn't respond to him. She was already walking along the path that went beside the playground she picked up her pace to that of a brisk walk. Asriel began to jog towards her.

"Frisk!" He called again.

Frisk quickly changed direction and ducked into one of the play structures on the playground. Asriel closed the distance between him and the play structure. The inside of the structure was unusually dark and there was no sign of Frisk. He crawled into the structure and found that it extended much farther than it appeared to be. A bright light shone through a distant exit. As he approached the exit, the tunnel increased in height, allowing him to stand. He moved through the bright light and found himself just outside the fence of a schoolyard. He looked behind him and sure enough, the doorway that took him here had disappeared. This was beginning to annoy him. Nevertheless, he followed Frisk here, so logically speaking, she should be here.

He surveyed the schoolyard, looking for signs of her. The yard was teeming with young children running around and a handful of teachers keeping an eye on things. One child in the bunch roused his suspicions. They were sitting alone on a bench beneath a tree with their head hung. In fact, they were the only child doing such. The child would occasionally look up and out over the other children before hanging their head once more. The bell rang and the teachers went and stood in front of the school building. The children slowly formed lines in front of their teachers. The child who sat alone got up from the bench and shambled toward one of the lines. Another child who was behind them very deliberately and roughly bumped against them, knocking the child to the ground. The child just lay there for a moment. None of the teachers seemed concerned about this. Asriel was disgusted by this. If this were his mother's school, she'd have run over to see if the child was alright before scolding the other child for pushing them. A teacher finally looked over to the child on the ground.

"Get up Frisk," he ordered, "recess is over."

"Lay off man! The kid was just pushed!" Asriel yelled to the teacher. He then realized what the teacher called the child.

The younger Frisk got up and joined her classmates in the line. The class began their march back into the school. She briefly lingered at the door and looked back at Asriel before entering. Asriel hopped the fence and ran to catch the door, which was closing. He caught the door's handle just in time. He opened it and stepped through. Much to his exasperation, he found himself in yet another location. It was a grey brick hallway. He looked behind him, expecting to see not even the slightest hint of a door. He saw an elevator door. Footsteps echoed down the corridor. The only person it could be was Frisk. Asriel set down the hall after her. As he rounded the corner he saw, sprawling out before him, New Home. He hesitated moving forward. It had been so long since he was here. The city was deserted and derelict. The streets were littered with broken glass, newspapers, and dropped belongings. It was as if there were a great panic and exodus. He continued after the distant footsteps once more. Towers with decorative crenelations lined the road. The footsteps lead him to the castle. He lingered at the door for another moment before heading in. So many memories… they began to flood his mind. His first step in caused a floorboard to squeak. He breathed slowly and tried his damndest to well up his emotions. The padlocks that closed off the way downstairs were undone. As he approached the stairs he stopped. Something was eating away at him. When he ceased being Flowey, he never came back here. There was someplace he had to go first.

He stepped into the east hallway. His father's bright golden flowers standing out against the alabaster walls of the hallway. The plush rug in the hall was soft on his feet. Every step became more difficult as he approached the door to his room. He breathed in deeply before opening the door. He looked around the room and chuckled lightly. It hadn't changed a bit. Other than being straightened up a bit it was exactly the same. He knelt down in front of the toy box. They were all there. The wooden trains, the blocks, the windup car… all of them were covered in a layer of dust. Beside his bed sat his two stuffed animals. He never knew exactly what they were, but he remembered that when he was younger he refused to sleep without them. Across the room, was her bed. He trod toward it. Taped to the wall above her headboard was a drawing of a golden flower with Chara scrawled in the corner in crayon. He put a hand to his mouth and breathed shakily. He remembered how she loved drawing. Boxes of crayons and pencils didn't last long around her. If pictures were flowers, one could plant an entire meadow with them. He snuffled and his eyes began to well up with tears. On the shelf beside her bed sat a framed photo of them with their parents. He was smiling ear to ear, but Chara was embarrassed and hid her face behind a bouquet of flowers she was holding. He picked up the photo and sat on the bed. A tear dropped onto the glass, he wiped it away with his thumb. He held the framed photo to his chest. He gave a heavy breath as tears streamed down his cheeks. He heard a small noise and looked over to it. Flowey had popped up between the floorboards, an unreadable look on his face.

"Howdy…" He started, "can I ask you something?"

Asriel simply nodded to him.

"It's been bugging me for a while. I didn't think it was possible but… are you… me?"

Asriel nodded and got up. He sat down on the floor beside Flowey. He stood the framed photo on the floor in front of them so they could both look at it. They sat in silence for a moment.

"You know… I may not have compassion, but I still miss her." Flowey piped up.

"I know…" Asriel responded quietly.

"It's weird. I don't feel anything for anyone else, but for her…"

"Yeah…"

"The worst part is, the way we went, I never got to say goodbye…"

Asriel sniffed and nodded. The two sat in mourning for their sister. For a few minutes, there was nothing but heart-wrenching silence.

"You're not from here. You can leave." Flowey mentioned.

"Huh?"

"The girl I torment when she's here. She's from the same place you come from. You can both leave."

"We can? How?" Asriel asked.

"I don't know," Flowey admitted, "I want you to go. You're me, but you can feel, you can love. I can't leave here, I can't stop being Flowey, I can't feel. If you go back, you can love and feel enough for both of us."

Asriel nodded. "She might know the way back from wherever this is."

"She's downstairs I think."

"I figured."

Asriel grabbed the photo and stood, replacing it back on the shelf. He was about to leave the room before he turned around. He knelt down and held Flowey in his arms.

"I… I don't… thank you."

Asriel parted from him and Flowey gave him a sad smile. Asriel stood and made his way to the stairs. He stood at the top of the stairwell and looked as it descended into darkness. He heard the sound of Flowey popping up through the floor. He looked over to his floral self and waved. Flowey waved back before retreating back into the ground. Asriel lingered for a moment before taking his first step down. He didn't know where he'd find himself at the bottom of the stairs, but he was determined. For Frisk, he would go to the ends of the earth if he had to.


	9. Part IX: The Shadow

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.

 **Author's Note:** I am very sorry this took so long. I actually meant to have this ready long before the New Year. I had written and rewritten this at least a dozen times. Once again, I'm sorry, the next part won't take as long as this one did. I already have it drafted and I just need to edit it a bit.

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART IX -=-=-=-=-**

 **THE SHADOW**

* * *

Asriel descended into darkness as he continued down the stairs. At the bottom was a hallway. A trail of footsteps echoed from around the corner. He chased after them immediately. As he rounded the corner he saw a shadow in an odd light that cascaded onto the wall from around another bend in the hall. He heard a loud creak and the level of light grew. A second creaking sound followed shortly after and with it the light lessened. He sped around the next corner and found a large door. The little light left in the hall was spilling in from beneath the door. He pushed the heavy doors open and was met with brilliant rays of orange light. He looked around and found himself at the barrier. Silhouetted by the shining twilight of the surface was Frisk. Asriel stepped into the barrier cavern and the doors creaked closed behind him. He had found her at last. He breathed a sigh of relief and approached her. Frisk remain stock still, as though she were petrified or a statue. It looked like she was holding something in front of her, he wasn't sure though, the silhouetting made it difficult to see. As he got closer to Frisk he could make out more details. Her posture was tense, her expression blank and unreadable, and most disturbingly, her eyes had a dark red glint to them. An uneasy feeling filled Asriel and he stopped moving towards her. Frisk gave him a cold, unblinking glare. He looked behind himself quickly. The doors were gone. When his eyes returned to Frisk, she was a step closer. He noticed that she seemed to be mumbling something.

" _He's just an obstacle..."_ He thought he heard Frisk say, although the voice was at a lower tone. " _He's a burden on our soul. We must be rid of him"_

Asriel took a cautious step backwards. He didn't like where this was going. A horrific sense of déjà vu struck him as he recalled the events that led up to this moment.

He had awoken to Frisk looming over him, a dark look in her eye, not dissimilar to the one she had now. When he got out of bed she attacked him. He had to block her assault with his arms. He had shoved Frisk during the scuffle and she smacked her temple on the corner of the night table. She seemed unconscious and he ran to get Toriel. On their way up the steps, they found that Frisk unconscious, but in the middle of the hall. Asriel figured she must have crawled there from the room. Toriel took Frisk to Alphys' clinic where they strapped her to one of the beds in the ward for her own protection. Later, sometime during the early morning, she somehow escaped. When Alphys found out she called Toriel and Asgore, who promptly organized search parties. Asriel was told by both of his parents to stay home, fearing for his safety. Something was dreadfully wrong with Frisk and Asriel needed to know what, so he decided to sneak out and search for her on his own. He had a hunch that Frisk would be at their place on Voltigeur pond if she was in distress. His memories after that were somewhat foggy still. He found her there at the pond, she apologized for something, and… He couldn't quite remember what happened next.

Asriel shook his head and snapped back to attention. Frisk had stopped mumbling and had closed her eyes. She moved her hand to the side and the object it held was no longer hidden in the silhouette. Its blade glinted in the light. It was Frisk's folding knife. Asriel took another step backwards.

"Let's just get this over with," Frisk muttered, this time in her own voice.

Asriel had a good idea of what that meant and began to move away from her. Unfortunately, before he could even turn around to run, an inconveniently located stone caused him to trip. In a single motion, Frisk took advantage of his vulnerability. Within a split second, she was on top of him with her blade raised primed to strike. She brought it down, aiming squarely at his throat. Asriel managed to grab her hand. All hands were on the knife a short second later, battling to control the weapon. Frisk forced the blade down, and Asriel resisted. It was a losing battle though, Frisk was always the strongest of the two. Staring death in the eye gave Asriel the strength to resist. Frisk had to put her weight behind the blade in order to close the distance. During all of this, Asriel had only one thought on his mind.

"Why?" He asked with a raspy voice.

Frisk didn't answer. She continued to force down the knife.

"Why?" He asked again.

No answer.

"Frisk, Why-"

"Just shut up!" Frisk snapped, now looking distraught. She shut her eyes for a moment and composed herself. "J-just… just be quiet Asriel."

Asriel refused the notion of going quietly. "Why are you doing this!?" He demanded.

"I… Asriel. I'm sorry. I can't share my soul with you anymore."

"Why not!?"

"I-" Frisk stopped her response abruptly. The red gleam in her eyes brightened and she spoke again in that darker tone from earlier. " _Because humans are disgusting creatures. Their depravity must be stopped and in order to do that, I must become powerful. I cannot carry out my vengeance with a leech like you clinging to my soul."_

"I know you had it rough, at least if that schoolyard scene was anything to go by, but-"

"You don't know," Frisk cut him off, "what I've been through!"

Her voice shook, "how I have suffered. How I… I have been h-hurt…" She trailed off.

"You could never know," she growled angrily. "You weren't shunned. You weren't beaten. You weren't ignored when you cried out for help…"

Her efforts redoubled. The knife drew in faster than before. Her voice increased in volume with every word.

"You never had to be afraid of returning home! You were never-" Frisk stopped mid-sentence and shut her eyes, unwilling to continue the sentence. She collected herself and continued, "You had parents that loved you!"

She forced the blade down and the tip parted the fur on his neck. He dared not swallow, lest his Adam's apple scrape across it.

"You have parents that love you, Frisk!" He shouted.

The knife, its tip grazing his throat, stopped. After all the struggle for control, the blade ceased its descent right as it met its mark. Frisk still applied downward force, but only enough to keep it where was. Asriel took this as a prompt to continue.

"You have people all around you who love and care about you. Mom loves you, Dad loves you, I love you. Papyrus, Sans, Undyne, Alphys,… they… we all love you. Whenever you needed help, we were all there for you. That hasn't changed, and it will never change."

Frisk's grip on the knife loosened. Asriel gently took it from her hands and tossed it aside. She got off of him and he sat up, rubbing where the knife grazed his throat. Frisk hung her head and held herself. Asriel shuffled towards her and wrapped his arms around Frisk. After a moment, Frisk slid her arms around his waist and buried her face in Asriel's shoulder. They stayed like that for a moment.

"Hey…" Asriel began, breaking the silence, "I don't know exactly what's going on with you, or where we are, or how we're going to get out of here, but I'm here for you. I always will be."

He parted from Frisk and looked her in the eye. The red gleam was gone and they had returned to their normal shade of brown. He wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb before pulling her back into a hug.

"I'm sorry…" Frisk apologized softly, "for attacking you."

"Don't worry about it. None of that matters now," He cooed. "Let's just find a way outta here."

The two stood up and looked around. The door in had vanished and the only way out appeared to be the barrier. Asriel and Frisk cautiously approached the shimmering twilight of the surface.

" _Traitors."_

A voice spoke up from behind them, causing them to stop in their tracks. The voice was all too familiar to them both. Frisk looked over to Asriel, who seemed to be in a state of shock. Frisk turned around slowly. Asriel was hesitant to turn and face the voice. He hadn't heard it for a long time and he never thought he'd hear it again. Asriel mustered his courage and turned around, immediately freezing over in grief and fright. An eerily similar shape to Frisk stood. Pale skinned, flushed cheeks, wide-eyed, with a red glare that was sharp enough to cut glass. It was his beloved, long since dead sister, Chara.

" _Both of you!"_ she spat venomously.

Asriel glanced over to Frisk. She looked like she was steeling herself for a fight. He looked back over to Chara. She was clutching the knife he discarded.

" _I should never have taken that deal. I knew he would be a liability."_ She stated bitterly, directing most of it to Frisk.

Asriel found all of this to be very uncomfortable and judging by the look on Frisk's face he wasn't the only one to feel this way. His dead sister was standing before him, brandishing a knife. Frisk had just tried to murder him. They were all in the Underground. Frisk and Chara seemed to know each other and even have some sort of history.

" _Frisk,"_ Chara began, taking notice of Asriel's confusion, " _I do believe we should enlighten our dear Asriel about our little deal."_

Asriel glanced over to Frisk. Shades of dread were washing over her. Chara smiled deviously. She opened her mouth to begin speaking when Frisk suddenly lunged at her. Whatever Chara was about to say, Frisk obviously didn't want it to be heard. The two were soon at blows. Asriel stood, watching in horror, not wanting to intervene, fearing that he might injure them. Frisk dodged the initial defensive slash and managed to get Chara in some sort of arm-hold. She successfully wrestled the knife from Chara's grasp, only to lose it after receiving several punches to the side. The two scrambled to the ground to get the knife. Frisk elbowed Chara across the face and snatched the knife quickly. After a hectic scuffle, the two had risen to their feet. Frisk feigned a stab to the left, Chara dodged accordingly and Frisk jabbed at the opening. Chara, however, must have seen it coming because she grabbed Frisk by the arm and pulled her in. Once she was close in, Chara proceeded to knee Frisk in the gut repeatedly. Frisk dropped the blade and Chara shoved Frisk to the ground. She quickly retrieved the knife and moved towards Frisk. As Asriel watched in self-imposed helplessness he shut and covered his eyes. All he heard was a shriek, followed by scuffling. When he finally dared to open his eyes, he saw Frisk on her knees, clutching her bleeding side, and restrained in a hold. Chara had the bloodied knife at her throat. He covered his mouth and shivered in fear.

" _Tell him, or I will."_

Frisk said nothing, staying defiantly silent. Chara sighed frustratedly and looked over to Asriel.

" _When Frisk-"_

"Don't listen to her, Asriel! She-" Chara quickly pressed the blade's edge against her throat, ending Frisk's interruption. Everyone remained still for a moment, especially Frisk.

Chara cleared her throat and began again. " _When Frisk decided that the ending she got was not the one she wanted, she began… experimenting. She was willing to do anything and everything to attain her happy ending."_

Frisk began struggling. Chara reasserted her dominant position by forcing the edge against Frisk's throat and ever so slightly sliding the knife, creating a small cut. Frisk breathed in sharply and ceased trying to break free.

" _Frisk, quite by accident, awakened me."_ Frisk became restless again. Chara decided to ignore it and continue. " _She did so by taking that stick she fell down with and venting her frustrations on that poor froggit. It gave her a taste of power. She thought she could use it to get her the happy ending she wanted. So she slaughtered any monster that came near her and she grew stronger. That is what brought me back. It was a… strange experience. It was like I awoke from a nightmare. I suddenly found myself floating in the back of Frisk's mind. I sifted through her memories and discovered that she and I were very similar, and not just in appearance. It was… amusing."_

Frisk tried her best to look away from Asriel. Chara prevented her from doing so, she wanted Frisk to look at Asriel.

" _When she finally faced our mother. She couldn't bring that toy knife she found against her. Mother used her magic and Frisk simply would not attack. When mother's sentimentality finally got to her, she dropped her guard, pulled Frisk into a hug and… well… you know what happened next. Frisk has a penchant for being a backstabber. I found the ordeal… horrifying yet also… cathartic and exhilarating. Frisk, despite her attachment to our mother, savagely and in the most despicable way possible, murdered her in cold blood. Her cruelty made me realize that my thirst for vengeance could be quenched."_

Frisk's eyes were closed and her face showed a defeated expression.

" _She continued her heartless butchering, with some encouragement every now and then from myself of course. Monster after monster fell before her. By the time she reached New Home, her hands were caked in dust, and all sympathy had washed away. She and I were in sync."_ Chara chuckled quietly, " _I'm actually not sure whose actions were who's at that point. I'm surprised that I need to tell you this. You were there, after all."_

Asriel didn't remember this all too well. Most of his memories as Flowey blended together, becoming somewhat amorphous. It probably didn't help that he actively repressed the memories too. A migraine flared up as fragmented memories rose to the surface. He as Flowey had mistaken Frisk as Chara at… some point. It was all terribly hazy.

" _Moving on. After dispatching the final obstacles, she met me in the darkest depths of her soul. I properly introduced myself and told her how I came about. I seduced her with promises of power. I told her that together we would move on from the pointless world we existed in and move on to the next. We would shatter the barrier and, in due time, enact vengeance upon humanity. Everything was progressing as planned. She knew the required rout to shatter the barrier and guided us on the path. But then, right at the end of our journey, she became sentimental. She took a stroll back through the Underground. She had done this all before, it was completely unnecessary. She came across you, huddled over my resting place and became apprehensive. She reset the timeline. I. Was. Furious. We were once a well-oiled machine, working in tandem. All of our hard work torn asunder. We fought for control afterwards, ultimately getting nothing done. After she slaughtered her way back to me, we held a parley and came to an agreement. She would become my willing vessel, but only if I met her two conditions. The first was to allow her to enjoy life for a little while. A simple enough request and one I could sympathize with. The second condition though… was… you. She would not agree to cooperate so long as you were doomed to turn back into the flower. I rejected the condition. She refused to cooperate until my patience ran out and I acquiesced. After doing are treading the same path all over again, we went to my burial site and I bound you to Frisk's soul. Ever since then, I've regretted it. You were, are, and always will be a liability. You've turned Frisk against me and have sabotaged my plans for the last time. Saving you and not crushing Frisk's free will were mistakes. Mistakes I intend to correct."_

Chara readied the knife, her intentions laid clear. She leant in and whispered to Frisk " _Starting with you."_

She made the motion to begin her slice. Asriel covered his eyes and cowered, he couldn't bear to watch. He heard a strange noise, followed by a pained grunt. When Asriel opened his eyes, he saw Frisk sprawled out on the ground, clutching at her neck, and Chara, now a distance back. Chara, still holding the knife, picked herself up off the ground. Asriel ran over to Frisk. He removed her bloodied hand from her neck and was relieved to see that there only flesh wounds there. He looked at her face. She seemed terribly frightened and unresponsive. He held her gingerly and comforted her as best he could. He heard heavy, angry breathing and turned to see the source. Chara stood a few metres away. She held the knife shakily, a look of seething rage on her face. Asriel held Frisk closer, in a protective reaction. Chara went to lunge at them but stopped as a ring of friendliness pellets formed around her. Before she knew what was happening, they closed in on her. The knife clattered to the floor and she disappeared. Asriel didn't summon the pellets, which meant only one thing. He looked around quickly and caught a glimpse of a flower burrowing into the ground. He let out a weary sigh. He looked back down at Frisk, who was slowly getting her bearings. After doing so she separated herself from Asriel's arms and scuttled away from him.

Asriel and Frisk sat before the barrier in silence. She didn't dare look at him. He idly twiddled his thumbs, mulling over everything that had happened. Not everything made sense, but he had put together a good-enough picture in his mind. Now he just needed to figure out a way to bring it up. He scratched the back of his neck.

"So…" Frisk piped up hoarsely. This startled Asriel, who thought he'd be the one to talk first. "You now know what I did to save you…"

He looked over to Frisk. She held herself as though she was cold, and still looking away.

"I killed everyone I ever cared about. Twice." She put a lot of emphasis on that last word. The disdain in her voice was palpable.

Asriel understood the guilt she was feeling. Seeing Flowey and hearing Chara's words dredged up a lot of awful memories. He had murdered his way across the underground many a time. She never had the grace of a foggy memory though. She probably dwelled on her actions every day of her life for all these years. He shuffled closer to Frisk and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"H-hey… I… uh… I think I have a good idea about what you're feeling right now. I did a lot of… uh… bad stuff… as Flowey." His words stumbled out awkwardly. "But uh… If you're worried that I'm angry at you, I'm not. Some of the things I did…"

Asriel trailed off, the unpleasant stroll through memory lane causing his gut to roil. He shook his head and snapped out of it. He then cast is gaze to the barrier.

"I've never told mom, or dad, for that matter. I'm petrified by the idea of them finding out. Whenever a memory surfaced around them, all I could do is bottle up the emotions and carry on as nothing happened. It's not easy to be around people you have vivid memories of killing."

He saw out of the corner of his eye that Frisk was looking at him. He looked over to her. She wore a pained expression, tears rolled down her cheeks. Frisk leant in and pulled Asriel into a hug, a gesture he gladly reciprocated. Nothing was said. Nothing had to be said. When they finally parted, Asriel looked over to the barrier.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" He asked.

"Yeah."

The two stood and approached the barrier.

"Wait," Frisk said as she stopped suddenly. Asriel turned to face her.

"I want to do something first."

Frisk put her hands to her chest. A bright light emanated from beneath them. She extended out her hands. Floating just above them was a luminous red heart. Her soul.

"What are you doing?" Asriel asked, concerned and confused.

"I'm already sharing my soul with you. I figured that you should get to keep your half."

And with that, she split the heart in half and extended one of the halves to Asriel. He reached out for it but hesitated. He looked up from the soul to Frisk's face. She was smiling reassuringly. He smiled slightly and took the soul fragment in his hand. He pressed it to his chest. A strange, tingling feeling rushed through his body. A warm feeling started in his chest and spread out from there. He smiled. It felt… nice. Frisk had returned her soul to its place. She took his hand in her own.

"Alright. Let's get out of here."

Asriel nodded. As the two passed through the barrier, a wave of blinding white light engulfed them.


	10. Part X: Recovery

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART X -=-=-=-=-**

 **RECOVERY**

* * *

Frisk's eyes opened slightly. Her vision was blurry and she could only make out vague, fuzzy, shapes. The large shape next to her was mostly white, black, and green in colour. It made a groaning noise and moved. Her vision faded and she was unconscious a moment later.

It then felt like someone was carrying her. There was an arm under her back and another under her knees. Frisk pried her eyes opened. She was leaning against someone wearing a dark green coat. She tried to touch the material, but couldn't move her hands. She was numb in her extremities. The figure carrying her was moving slowly and with great difficulty. Everything was going dark again. She was out once more.

There were frantic voices all about. They seemed quite urgent about something. Frisk heard the sound of wheels on a hard floor, followed by multiple footsteps. There was a sort of squeaking and rustling sound. The wheels and footsteps started up again and the sound got farther away. They returned shortly afterward. She felt a couple of people pick her up and hoist her onto a soft-ish surface. She opened her eyes. Shining lights passed above her and she was wrapped in a bed sheet. A tall brown and teal figure appeared and began dragging the object she was on. As she rolled along her vision began to sharpen. The shining lights turned to fluorescent lighting fixtures and the brown and teal figure turned into a rabbit-like monster in a nurse uniform. The gurney she found herself on maneuvered next to a hospital bed and a second nurse appeared from behind her. The nurses unravelled the sheet and carefully slid her from the gurney to the bed before throwing the sheet back over her. Everything blurred for a moment. The nurses suddenly rushed over to the left. She looked over and saw Asriel lying on another bed. He didn't look good. The nurses fussed about for a moment before one ran from the room.

"As...ri...el…" Frisk croaked before going unconscious again.

A great deal of time passed before she next awoke. She found herself still in the hospital bed. The number of bindings holding her to it had doubled from the last time she was here. Frisk looked around and the only other people in the ward were Asgore and Alphys. Alphys was at a computer in the corner typing something up, and Asgore, standing fairly close by, was on the phone. She focused on Asgore and listened in as best she could.

"No. It's not-

…

Come on now, son. Don't be like that-

…

I know you're worried, we all are, but right now-

…

Your mother and I are just worried about your safety-

…

Asriel-"

"Asriel?" She piped up as loud as she could muster.

Asgore cast a nervous glance at her before turning away. He talked more quietly. A moment later, the speaker on the phone blared out "Frisk?" in Asriel's voice. Asgore pulled the phone away from his ear at the beginning of the outburst and quickly muffled the speaker with his thumb. He mumbled something into the phone before pulling the phone away from his ear again. This time the noise from the speaker was nagging and distinctly Toriel sounding. He groaned and let the nagging die down before putting the phone back to his ear. Alphys shot Asgore a glare and he took the rest of the call out of the room. Alphys got out from behind the computer and headed over to her.

"H-hey." Alphys greeted as she fidgeted nervously.

"Hey." Frisk returned.

The silence, very much like Alphys herself, was short and awkward. Alphys' eyes darted around.

"So… uh… h-how are you feeling?"

"Uh…" Frisk thought about it for a moment, "my fingertips feel a little numb and I feel like I have blisters in a few places."

"That's normal for second-degree frostbite," Alphys replied matter of factly, looking at a clipboard she took from the foot of the bed.

"Also, the straps are a bit tight."

"Huh? O-oh. Right. Let me just… just..." Alphys hesitated and her hand hung over one of the clasps. She retracted her hand and bit her knuckle.

Frisk raised an unamused eyebrow as she watched Alphys squirm. The doctor scratched the back of her neck and laughed nervously. Her eyes darted about, unsure of how to proceed. Frisk, after a few agonizingly awkward minutes, sighed audibly.

"L-look, " Alphys began, "after you a-attacked Asriel, we've all been a l-little… antsy around you. And after you escaped earlier, we decided it would be prudent to double up on the straps." She tapped her pointer fingers together and began sweating. "So… uh… I-I'm sorry."

Frisk sighed again and Alphys crept away. She couldn't really argue with the logic. She did attack Asriel, she did break her bindings and run, she did stab Asriel in the back. A thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"Alphys." she turned to face Frisk. "What happened to Asriel?" Frisk knew he was alright from the phone call she overheard, but he wasn't present in any of the ward's beds.

"He…" she seemed hesitant to continue, "He w-was sent to the hospital. They were better equipped to deal with his injury there."

Frisk nodded, or at least as best as she could in her position. With that, Alphys returned to the desk. Asgore walked through the door and headed over to Frisk, grabbing a chair that was set against the wall on the way over. He sat next to her.

"Howdy, " he said meekly, "I'm glad to see you're awake."

Frisk nodded again. A silence fell over them. The key presses from Alphys at the computer being the only noise of note. Asgore smiled, trying to elicit one from Frisk. She remained adamant in her blank expression. His smile turned sheepish.

"Golly." He mumbled to himself.

She shuffled around beneath the sheets and straps, trying to see if she could get more comfortable. Asgore twiddled his fingers nervously as he watched her shuffle about. She eventually sighed and gave up, the straps were too restrictive. She laid back and stared up at the ceiling, idly rapping the cot with her fingertips. She waited for Asgore to break the silence. He looked eager to talk but hesitant to start. No doubt due to the fact that she needed to be strapped down she figured.

"Is he alright?" Frisk asked, tired of the silence.

"Uh. It was a bit, touch-and-go for a bit, but he's fine now. The doctor said that Asriel will make a full recovery."

She smiled. "He sounded well enough."

Asgore chuckled, "yeah…"

She looked at Asgore and asked, "what were you two arguing about?"

He became sheepish and laughed nervously, "we weren't arguing."

Frisk said nothing. She merely gave him a look that suggested that she knew better. His coy smile dropped. Frisk didn't let up easily and Asgore knew this. Hesitantly, he began to divulge what he was discussing with Asriel and Toriel. She smiled when he said that Asriel was anxious to see if she was ok. It was nice to know that he was worried about her too. Frisk's face fell after hearing that Toriel suggested that she and Asriel be split up.

"How do mean?" Frisk inquired, concerned.

Asgore was reluctant to clarify but did so anyway. "After you… uh… well… had a… a scrap with Asriel, everyone's been… wary. Now we know it wasn't your fault. You didn't know what you were doing. We're going to get you help so you can get better. But until you do, your mother thinks that… uh… you should… uh… not be around Asriel."

Frisk's heart sank. She didn't know how to respond. She and Asriel shared a room. They always ate lunch, went to the movies, and played video games together. The two spent most of their time hanging out. She couldn't imagine being apart from him. Asgore watched as despair washed over her.

"Now now, " he soothed, "it'd only be for a little while. You can still see him at school too. I promise." She smiled a little at the reassurance. "Dr. Alphys contacted a specialist and you have an appointment on Friday," he continued, "I have no doubt that they'll come up with a treatment for you. Now… in the meantime, I'll talk to Dr. Alphys and see if we can't at least loosen those straps."


	11. Part XI: In Spite Of Everything

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.

 **Author's Note:** Well here it is. The final part of this story. Am I entirely happy with the end result? Sorta. I originally wanted to write this in the first person from Asriel's perspective but no matter how I tried I couldn't make it work. Oh well. Every time I checked this story's metrics and saw the new views, followers, and favourites, it filled me with Determination. It helped me see this story through to its end, unlike my other works which sadly lay abandoned or on indefinite hold. I enjoyed writing this Undertale fic and I may write more in the future. I hope you enjoyed reading this story. I wish you a great day!

* * *

 **IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW**

 **-=-=-=-=- PART XI -=-=-=-=-**

 **IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING**

* * *

"Hey." She greeted when she saw him.

"Hey." He returned, turning around to see her.

They stood apart on the shingle beach. It felt like forever since they last saw each other. The weather had warmed and the snow had melted. A light breeze blew through, causing small ripples in the pond. Frisk smiled and ran toward Asriel. She threw her arms around him and he did the same. The two had been mostly apart for the better half of a month and they treasured any moment the had together. They broke their embrace and the two moved over and sat beneath the tree that had their names carved in it.

"So…" Asriel began, "how've you and Dad been getting along?"

"I've been really bored and Asgore has been normal cheery self," she explained, "How've you and Toriel been?"

"Mom tries to keep me busy so I can't find the time to go see you."

Frisk didn't have a response for that. A sad look crossed her face.

"She's just being overprotective." He said, subconsciously rubbing the scars on his forearm.

He noticed what he was doing and stopped. He glanced over and saw the guilt in her eyes.

Asriel set a hand on her shoulder, "h-hey. Look. It wasn't your fault. You weren't the one in charge of your actions. We both know that."

She looked away. "I know, but…" she mumbled, "I still feel like… like I didn't put up enough of a fight. That I didn't even try to resist."

Asriel pulled Frisk over and leant her on his shoulder. "You did resist though."

"Ugh. I know. It's just… ugh. I hate feelings. Feelings suck. I wish I was a Vulcan."

Asriel chuckled. "Oh come now. Feelings don't suck. If you didn't have feelings, sure, you wouldn't feel sad, but you wouldn't feel happy either."

"That shrink Alphys has me seeing said damn near the same thing."

"Really?"

"Ayup. He has me write my feelings and thoughts down in a journal."

"Huh. That's very Night-in-the-Woods-ish."

"Yeah. I haven't really written much. I mostly doodle in it. Wanna see?"

"Sure."

She pulled from her pocket a little spiral-bound notebook and handed it over to Asriel. He flipped through the pages, seeing drawings wherever they could be fit in. They littered the margins and spaces between the paragraphs of vaguely written emotional tirades. Pictures of tanks, trains, starships, robots fighting werewolves, and a drawing of… him. The attention to detail was staggering. His stubby horns, the errant tuft of hair on the top of his head, the way he smiles. She noticed his lingering on the drawing and snatched the notebook from his hands. He looked over and saw that her cheeks were flushed.

"That one was pretty good," Asriel commented.

"S-shut up!" Frisk snapped, embarrassed.

"No really. It was very nice."

"Yeah, whatever." She mumbled.

"So does it help?" Asriel asked after a few seconds.

"What?"

"The journal, does it help?"

"Uh…" Frisk pondered for a moment, "I guess? I mean, I don't write stuff out that thoroughly."

"I noticed," Asriel replied dryly, "I must have seen the phrase 'I'm bored and sad' at least a dozen times when flipping through it."

"To be fair, I've been mostly bored and sad. Asgore doesn't have much to do around his apartment."

Asriel in response to this he grabbed his backpack and pulled a pair of teal objects from it. Frisk's eyes lit up when we saw them. He passed one of the objects to her and she took it as quickly as she snatched the notebook. She held the object and flipped it open eagerly. It was her 3ds. She beamed joyfully. She couldn't find it when she was collecting her things for her stay at Asgore's. Here it was though, right there in her hands.

"I brought the charger and some of your favourite games too," Asriel remarked.

She beamed as she turned the device on and Asriel followed suit. They played the hours away and day shifted to dusk. The battery life dwindled until the devices gave their signature warning of their impending shut-down. They called the game they were in the middle of a draw and shut them. Asriel checked his phone. Multiple missed calls and texts from his mother. He was going to get an earful when he got home. He sighed and returned the phone to his pocket. Frisk laughed.

"Yeah… I'm gonna get chewed out too."

She leant her head on his shoulder and slid her arm around his back.

"I don't care though. I needed this."

Ariel slid his arm around her waist and pulled her in a little closer.

"Yeah… I did too."

The looked down at her and she looked up. A strange feeling fluttered around in Asriel's stomach as he looked into her soft, brown eyes. A strange look came to her. Their faces grew closer until her eyes were all he could see. Her gaze was magnetic. A heat rose to his face and his cheeks were tinged with a blush. He longed to draw closer. His want for her was overwhelming. Everything had stood still. Naught a sound but their breathing was heard. His heart pounded with desire in his chest. They drew closer, their eyes closed. At the last moment, he turned away. It didn't feel right to go through with it. Frisk felt his hesitation and pulled away. The two parted without another word on the matter. Despite the ensuing awkwardness of the near kiss, despite the truly harrowing month, despite everything that threatened to drive the two of them apart, Asriel and Frisk were now closer and stronger than ever.


End file.
